Generally, recordation onto a recording medium by a recording device is irreversible, and the recording medium cannot be used repeatedly by removing a once-recorded image. In considering environmental load, it is desirable to reuse the recording medium especially for displays of which contents are changed in short period of time. Further, if the recordation of image can be performed again after having removed the once-recorded image, handling can be afforded as to printing errors and the like on the recording medium.
Thus, Patent Document 1 discloses a recording medium that enables to perform image recordation onto the recording medium and image removal from the recording medium in a reversible manner. Patent Document 1 discloses a recording medium in which a state where color is relatively exhibited and a state where the color is relatively extinguished are formed according to a difference in heating temperature and/or cooling speed after heating. In this recording medium, an image is recorded by once heating the recording medium and rapidly cooling the same by a thermal head and the like, and the image is removed by gradually cooling the recording medium from its heated state.
However, in the recording medium disclosed in Patent Document 1, full color printing and high resolution printing and the like are difficult. Thus, Patent Document 2 discloses a technique in which a removable organic film is formed on a recording medium surface, and an image formed by an electrophotographic scheme, a heat transfer scheme, or an ink jet scheme, etc. on a surface of this organic film is removed altogether with the organic film.
Further, Patent Document 3 discloses a technique in which a surface layer containing hydroxypropyl cellulose as a resin component is formed on a surface of a recording medium, an image is formed by water-color ink on the surface of the recording medium, and thereafter the recording medium is washed by water to remove the recorded image.
It should be noted that Patent Document 4 discloses a technique in which an image is recorded by performing printing on a fabric with a textile printing ink-jet ink containing water-soluble compound which can be polymerized by external energy beam irradiation, thereafter generating polymeric compound by an irradiation of external energy beam onto the water-soluble compound, and undergoing a water washing process of removing the unreacted, polymerizable water-soluble compound and the polymeric compound from the fabric.
This technique removes both the water-soluble compound contained in the textile printing ink-jet ink and the polymeric compound generated by the external energy beam irradiation, and it differs from the technique of removing an image printed on the fabric.